Regular exercise is well recognized as important for good health. Some people get enough exercise through their normal work day. Others, especially those having desk jobs, often find that regular exercise must be a planned part of their week to ensure that they get enough exercise. Many people have found that various types of exercise machines, such as rowing machines, stationary running machines, stair climbers and so forth, are very effective at getting a good workout efficiently.
One of the problems with conventional exercise machines is that they often have fixed hand grips. These hand grips have several shortcomings. Because the spatial orientation of the hand grip is fixed relative to the machine, the muscle groups used are often flexed in only a single plane. This tends to overuse certain muscles and under use other muscles because of the restricted nature of the movement. Another problem which has arisen is the incidence of injury to the user, including carpal tunnel syndrome. It is believed that this occurs because the fixed grip units cause the hand and forearm to often be misaligned since the machine is not specially fitted to each individual user. Even if a fixed grip were fitted to a particular user, many, if not most, exercises can cause the hand and forearm to become misaligned over much of the exercise movement. It is believed that this misalignment of the hand and forearm can cause various problems, including carpal tunnel syndrome. Similar problems can arise from foot pedals which are fixed or pivot about only a single axis.